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Walden
The Walden Libertarian Party, abbreviated WLP and often nicknamed the Waldeners, is a Lovian libertarian-environmentalist political party with three seats in the 2010 Congress. It was founded by Laurence McKinley in 2009 as the Liberal Party. Andy McCandless in 2009 became the party's chairman and changed its name. Since then, the party swifted from classical liberalist-capitalist to libertarianist and environmentalist. The party is named after Walden, a book by the famous Henry David Thoreau. Its national headquarters can be found on Freedom Avenue 10, Downtown, Noble City. The party has its own community house, being the Walden Home in Long Road, Noble City. The party's slogan is "Simplify, simplify!", after Henry David Thoreau. History Liberal Party The party was founded as the Liberal Party in November 2009, by Laurence McKinley. At his speech on November 20, 2009, Laurence McKinley declared what the ideology of his party should be. He remarked the following points of view as necessary: civil liberties, a free market and good relations with the United States. A magazine that is published by George Mithrăndir at the Mithrăndir’s House is the Literary Liberal (LL), which deals with both literature and the politics and philosophy in Lovia and Noble City, and its views usually resemble those of the political party. The magazine however is not authorized by the Liberal Party. Reform into the WLP Andy McCandless reformed it into the Walden Libertarian Party. On December the 6th of 2009, it fused with Pierlot McCrooke's NKU party, becoming the nation's second largest political party. However, after a couple of days the NKU members, of which Pierlot McCrooke is the best known, left the Walden Libertarian Party and joined other parties. Elections The first Lovian elections in which the Walden Libertarian Party participated, were the January 2010 Federal Elections. The elections began with the candidacies of Andy McCandless and Edward Hannis. The WLP joined the Coalition LD+WLP, in which McCandless was the common PM candidate. The coalition however didn't work out as wished, and both parties went their own way by mid-January. By the end of the elections, McCandless, Harris and the new party member Pierlot McCrooke (who had already been a member in late 2009) were elected to Congress. Statistics * 2010 Federal Elections ** Votes for the WLP: 21.0% (3rd position) ** Votes for Andy McCandless: 9.7% (shared 3rd position) ** Votes for Edward Hannis: 6.5% (10th position) ** Votes for Pierlot McCrooke: 4.8% (11th position) Ideology Introduction to libertarianism Definition Libertarianism is a term adopted by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which advocate the maximization of individual liberty and the minimization or even abolition of the state. Libertarians embrace viewpoints across that spectrum, ranging from minarchist to openly anarchist. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: :Libertarians are committed to the belief that individuals, and not states or groups of any other kind, are both ontologically and normatively primary; that individuals have rights against certain kinds of forcible interference on the part of others; that liberty, understood as non-interference, is the only thing that can be legitimately demanded of others as a matter of legal or political right; that robust property rights and the economic liberty that follows from their consistent recognition are of central importance in respecting individual liberty; that social order is not at odds with but develops out of individual liberty; that the only proper use of coercion is defensive or to rectify an error; that governments are bound by essentially the same moral principles as individuals; and that most existing and historical governments have acted improperly insofar as they have utilized coercion for plunder, aggression, redistribution, and other purposes beyond the protection of individual liberty.Zwolinski, Matt, "Libertarianism", Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu/l/libertar.htm, retrieved 2008-08-09. Libertarianism.com describes libertarianism this way: :Libertarianism is, as the name implies, the belief in liberty. Libertarians strive for the best of all worlds - a free, peaceful, abundant world where each individual has the maximum opportunity to pursue his or her dreams and to realize his full potential. The core idea is simply stated, but profound and far-reaching in its implications. Libertarians believe that each person owns his own life and property, and has the right to make his own choices as to how he lives his life - as long as he simply respects the same right of others to do the same. :Another way of saying this is that libertarians believe you should be free to do as you choose with your own life and property, as long as you don't harm the person and property of others. Libertarianism is thus the combination of liberty (the freedom to live your life in any peaceful way you choose), responsibility (the prohibition against the use of force against others, except in defense), and tolerance (honoring and respecting the peaceful choices of others). Live and let live. The Golden Rule. The non-initiation of force.NN, "What Is Libertarianism?", Libertarianism.com, http://www.libertarianism.com/what-it-is.htm, retrieved 2010-01-25. The Walden Libertarian Party sees liberty of every individual as its main principle. Left-wing or right-wing Libertarianism is "often thought of as "right-wing" doctrine. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy however notes that libertarianism is not a right-wing doctrine for at least two reasons: :First, on social—rather than economic—issues, libertarianism tends to be “left-wing”. It opposes laws that restrict consensual and private sexual relationships between adults (e.g., gay sex, non-marital sex, and deviant sex), laws that restrict drug use, laws that impose religious views or practices on individuals, and compulsory military service. :Second, in addition to the better-known version of libertarianism — right-libertarianism — there is also a version known as "left-libertarianism". Both endorse full self-ownership, but they differ with respect to the powers agents have to appropriate unappropriated natural resources .... Left-libertarianism ... holds that unappropriated natural resources belong to everyone in some egalitarian manner. It can, for example, require those who claim rights over natural resources to make a payment to others for the value of those rights. This can provide the basis for a kind of egalitarian redistribution.Vallentyne, Peter, "Libertarianism", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/libertarianism/, retrieved 2010-01-25. Like many libertarians, Leonard Read rejected the concepts of "left" and "right" libertarianism, calling them "authoritarian." Libertarian author and politician Harry Browne wrote: "We should never define Libertarian positions in terms coined by liberals or conservatives – nor as some variant of their positions. We are not fiscally conservative and socially liberal. We are Libertarians, who believe in individual liberty and personal responsibility on all issues at all times. You can depend on us to treat government as the problem, not the solution.""Libertarianism", Wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism, retrieved 2010-01-25. Introduction to environmentalism Wikipedia defines environmentalism as follows: "Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the state of the environment.""Environmentalism", Wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentalism, retrieved 2010-01-28. Thoreau, after whose book (Walden) the party was named, also played a vital role in the development of environmentalism in the United States: "The US movement expanded in the 1800s, out of concerns for protecting the natural resources of the West, with individuals such as John Muir and Henry David Thoreau making key philosophical contributions. Thoreau was interested in peoples' relationship with nature and studied this by living close to nature in a simple life. He published his experiences in the book Walden, which argues that people should become intimately close with nature.""Environmentalism", Wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentalism, retrieved 2010-01-28. General viewpoints on economy and politics as 2010 Prime Minister candidate]] * Protection and guarantee of the civil liberties and personal freedom of each inhabitant * Guarantee of the free market (no state-run economy) within the boundaries of the protection of everyone's rights and liberties * Protection of the environment by legal action as a means to safeguard our personal freedoms * Minimal legal constructions Viewpoints on Lovian politics * Legalization of abortion and euthanasia * Legalization of same-sex marriage * Gender-neutrality and guaranteeing women's rights * Minimum tax rates * No progressive taxation * Protection of the natural environment * Simplification of the legal system ** Abolishment of state law ** Abolishment of non-democratic local regulations * Simplification of the governmental systems * Tougher action against theft or other violations of property rights Viewpoints on foreign policy * Neutrality * Isolationalism: no US interference in Lovia, no Lovian interference abroad * Pacifism * Support to ecological efforts worldwide * Soft immigration policy Notable members * Andy McCandless: Member of the Congress * Edward Hannis: Member of the Congress * Pierlot McCrooke: Member of the Congress * Martha Van Ghent Headquarters and offices * Headquarters: Downtown, Noble City * State office for Clymene: Sofasi * State office for Sylvania: Downtown, Noble City References See also * Coalition LD+WLP Category:Political party Category:Downtown